ALBUM REVIEW: Haiduk - Exomancer

HAIDUK (Canada)
"Exomancer"
(Independent)
Release date: October 17th 2018
Genre: Blackened death metal, thrash metal
Links:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Youtube
Webpage

HAIDUK is a one man project from Calgary, Canada, and it is the brainchild of Luka Milojica, who founded the project in 2010. He released the "Plagueswept" demo the same year, and 2018 saw the release of HAIDUK's third full length album.

"Exomancer" has been out for about ten months, and has harvested a vast amount of praise from various zines, sites and blogs such as this one, has sold albums worldwide and appeared on diverse compilations and radio stations.

The album is ten tracks strong, but only clocks in at half an hour in length. The album is very intense all the way through, from the opening riffs of "Death Portent" throughout "Crypternity, which concludes the album half an hour later, there is nothing but fast, piercing riffs and technical guitar work that sum up to a total of black, shattering, infernal brutality. There are hints of Slayer and Cryptopsy, Deicide, Crest of Darkness and Mayhem, and it's all done with a devastating intensity that leaves listeners such as yours truly a little stunned.

Milojica is a technically skilled musician, and creates complex imageries with his arrangements. Somehow I am reminded by the guitar work that Rune Eriksen on Mayhem's "Grand Declaration of War" twenty years back. Fast, intense, and colorful in all its blackness, which also is a suitable description for HAIDUK's third full length.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Tracklist
1. Death Portent                                 
2. Unsummon                                       
3. Evil Art                                               
4. Subverse                                           
5. Icevoid Nemesis                               
6. Doom Seer                                       
7. Pulsar                                               
8. Blood Ripple                                     
9. Once Flesh                                       
10. Crypternity         

HAIDUK:
Luka Milojica - vocals, guitars, drum programming, mix/mastering

ALBUM REVIEW: Lesser Known Character - No Equal Exchange

LESSER KNOWN CHARACTER (England)
"No Equal Exchange" (Digital album)
(Independent)
Release date: May 1st 2019
Links:
BandCamp
Facebook
Spotify

Whenever I hear the term punk rock I am usually not the most enthusiastic person in sight, but after creating this page I have found myself willing to open up more for new genres, whereas before I stuck to music I was already familiar with. But, this young lad (cough...) doesn't shy away from a challenge, so I decided to give the British punk quartet LESSER KNOWN CHARACTER a chance.

I was not given much information about the band these Bristol based gentlemen has formed together, other than that about this brand spanking new EP they just released. Their debut three track EP entitled "Calamity" was released in August 2016, and after having given it a spin I must say that too is an enjoyable piece of work.

But today's topic is the band's newborn EP "No Equal Exchange", which according to the band themselves is more technical and heavy than the debut. Here we have six songs clocking in at about a quarter of an hour in playing time, and it is amazing just how much Carl, Nick, Matt and Pete manage to present during these few minutes.

Be sure, this is not just traditional punk rock. Whereas the debut was heavy and melodic, this new effort is far more frantic in its expression, possibly influenced by the topics in their lyrics in these half a dozen songs.

"This record sees us exploring lyrical themes including how shit Brexit is, toxic masculinity, and the depressing growth in the use of hate speech online", says the band when they explain where they find inspiration to the lyrics on "No Equal Exchange", and the obvious frustration one might get from said topics should fit perfectly in this genre.

The band plays fast, and they're tight. Traditional punk rock would have more emphasis on basic chords, but LESSER KNOWN CHARACTER allow themselves to experiment more, bringing more color to their otherwise raw and unpolished expression. Lead singer Carl spits out his lyrics with an archetypical British accent, as if Johnny Rotten himself was behind the microphone, and thusly brings a genuine authenticity to the attitude their music displays.

Given the fact that I had a very limited experience with the punk genre prior to this release, I am pleased to discover that "No Equal Exchange" is a delightfully frustrated piece of work, completely devoid of compromise. Whereas "Calamity" was a bit more polished on the production side, this is dirtier and messier, and it's bloody wonderful!

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Tracklist:
1. Separation Anxiety
2. Less Tightrope, More Tripwire
3. Be A Man
4.Constructive Dismissal
5. A More Pallid Palette
6. Fake News

LESSER KNOWN CHARACTER:
Carl, bass
Nick, guitar
Matt, drums
Pete, guitar

ALBUM REVIEW: Jugular - As Birth Becomes Life Becomes Death

JUGULAR (Canada)
"As Birth Becomes Life Becomes Death" (Digital album)
(Independent)
Release date: December 25th 2018
Links:
BandCamp
Facebook
Spotify
YouTube

JUGULAR is a four-piece band from Barrie, a city in Ontario, and were formed back in 2006, until they went on hiatus in 2011. During this period they recorded and released several demos, and in 2010 their song "Heavy Metal Law" won the award for BEST SONG in the metal category at the Barrie New Music Awards, and this was the band's first song ever to be properly mixed and mastered. Way to go, guys!

In late 2017, the band secretly started working on what was to become their first official release, and the subject of this very review; the EP "As Birth Becomes Life Becomes Death". The title itself could perhaps indicate that this is a black/death metal album with a concept of grand and cosmic proportions, but it's actually quite more "easy-listening" than that.

The EP contains six tracks, and "Revolution Around The Sun" is a great and memorable opener, with its metal hymn like intro, followed by thrashy and grinding riffs that takes me back to any old Metallica album. Jordan Grimbly has a great voice that complements the band well, especially on the really heavy tracks, like on the before mentioned opeing track, as well as the very last one, "Dying To Be Alive".

"Angel Of Darkness" is a mid-tempo song introducing some nice clean guitars, and is not as heavy as the opener, and alongside "The Passenger" it is more hard rock oriented than the rest of the tracks. "And Into Dust" is a catchy little tune; the perfect choice for a single. "There's A Body For The Soul (Unshackled Me)" is even more downtempo than "Angel Of Darkness", and it starts off with a sexy, thick bass that develops into a song that shows the darker side of the band, without straying too far off the path they are on.

JUGULAR has a way of writing short and effective songs. The six tracks that make up their debut EP sound clean and are well produced, and prove that the band are quite comfortable playing melodic hard rock as well as thrash metal.

I want more, guys!

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Tracklist:
1. Revolution Around The Sun
2. Angel Of Darkness
3. And Into Dust
4. There's A Body For The Soul (Unshackled Me)
5. The Passenger
6. Dying To Be Alive

JUGULAR:
- Jordan Grimbly, guitars and vocals
- Bren Pearce, drums
- James Stewart, guitars
- Ben Fuchs, bass